<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Strangers.Now: STRANGERS.NOW Films]]></title><description><![CDATA[“What Am I Doing Here?” Short Film Series]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TFkl!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee502622-ad86-4a3a-b898-3a84772540e1_250x250.png</url><title>Strangers.Now: STRANGERS.NOW Films</title><link>https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 04:56:06 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.strangers.now/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Eric Vander Borght]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[strangersnow@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[strangersnow@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[strangersnow@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[strangersnow@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[The song of life]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Geneva, Switzerland, Bakhtiar, in his favorite quiet square, was reviewing his French lessons. Then I came with a camera. (In Afghan Farsi.)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/the-song-of-life</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/the-song-of-life</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2025 14:40:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/168626783/44b71242248e8832dd0099be90586536.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dear friends, sorry for having been absent for a while. I sometimes doubt it&#8217;s worthwhile spending much energy on this project, which means directing, filming, meticulously editing and translating, writing, publishing, promoting, only to draw so little attention. Seventy-six subscribers to date&#8230; despite <a href="https://www.strangers.now/about">rave reviews</a> from the happy few who decided to press &#8220;play.&#8221; In any case, <strong>my heartfelt gratitude to all seventy-six of you</strong> for your interest! This particular film was especially tedious to translate until it was supervised by Akhtar Akhgar, <strong>thank you, brother!</strong></p><p>To my handful of fans: <em>proactively liking, sharing and subscribing is super important</em>, as:</p><ol><li><p>it shows support, which motivates me to continue</p></li><li><p>it helps my little bottles thrown into the ocean of the web reach new shores. There are people on those shores who will be happy to discover my little films in those little bottles. Do them a favor. All the more so since this Substack is <em>totally free</em>, generating no income. More on sharing below.</p></li></ol><p>Now, you can take a relaxing, quiet three-minute break, and, preferably on a good screen, meet Bakhtiar.</p><p>While I was supposed to film someone else who didn&#8217;t show up, Bakhtiar was quietly sitting in this Geneva square. So I turned to him and offered to film him, which he accepted without a moment&#8217;s hesitation. This always feels extraordinary, and it happens almost every time I meet a stranger with my camera. Thank you, Bakhtiar.</p><p><strong>That is how Bakhtiar spontaneously started singing, then ended up telling me, and therefore all of us, that his body contains bomb fragments as if it were the most normal thing in the world.</strong></p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.<br>(Independent filmmaking, real-life storytelling, and more).</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/the-song-of-life?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/the-song-of-life?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention, please share, like, and engage widely! Only <em>your</em> sharing and that of your friends can bring the films to <em>life</em>, that is by building <em>lively</em> connections with viewers. They need your creative involvement, preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is a good way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Farsi to English translation of this particular film was supervised with the gracious help of Akhtar Akhgar. </p><p>Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/abydos_music-27178115/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a> and <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/liecio-3298866/">Li&#233;cio Rodriguez</a>, sourced from Pixabay and used under a royalty-free license.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching <strong><a href="http://strangers.now">Strangers.Now</a></strong>! Subscribe for free to discover new short films and meaningful real-life moments.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p><strong>Films, Human-Made | Human stories through independent filmmaking | <a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The moon and the sun]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Vilnius, Lithuania, Lijana recounts the event that changed the way she sees the world, both from within and as a whole (in Lithuanian)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/the-moon-and-the-sun</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/the-moon-and-the-sun</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2025 16:10:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/163640056/939132772870c20ec1efaf527a40c8fd.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As I walked with my camera along the queue of Lithuanian citizens who had come to vote last autumn in Vilnius, wondering who would be interested in testifying about strangerness&#8212;yes, with an &#8216;R&#8217;&#8212;and sharing a bit of their life experience, Lijana saw me and immediately went for it. Within two minutes, I was filming her talking to me, and now to you.</p><p>Her confidence in the process was truly touching. She gives us a precious gift by opening up about a personal episode of her story, leading to beautifully put thoughts about our relationships with others.</p><p>I couldn&#8217;t believe I was capturing this moment. I feel blessed. Thank you, Lijana!</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.<br>(Independent filmmaking, real-life storytelling, and more).</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/the-moon-and-the-sun?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/the-moon-and-the-sun?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention, please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/abydos_music-27178115/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a> and <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/liecio-3298866/">Li&#233;cio Rodriguez</a>, sourced from Pixabay and used under a royalty-free license.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching <strong><a href="https://www.strangers.now">Strangers.Now</a></strong><a href="https://www.strangers.now/archive">!</a> Subscribe for free to discover new short films and meaningful real-life moments.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p><strong>Films, Human-Made | Human stories through independent filmmaking | <a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Natural Born Strangers]]></title><description><![CDATA[What if strangers meet with a camera? A 1-min trailer for the Strangers.Now series.]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/natural-born-strangers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/natural-born-strangers</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 27 Apr 2025 16:28:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/162194604/2537cca2944194e5a13e1a96ee5e40f0.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sing it at the bus stop, shout it at parties, dream it aloud&#8230; pass on Strangers.Now any way you like, don&#8217;t wait!<strong><br><br>Dear friend or visitor,</strong></p><p>If you haven&#8217;t seen it yet on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vanderborght/posts/pfbid0CjPHgFygqbLW3rFb1KjyR2KFVSKdNJQix3BQnxUctdqfWrfHey8xY4RykmUWn3Ual">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vanderborght_strangersnow-documentaryfilm-visualstorytelling-activity-7321442978223271936-PiCS">LinkedIn</a>, here&#8217;s a trailer for the growing short film series I lovingly crafted with my own little hands and a dash of creativity&#8212;all ready for you to share and show support.</p><p>Life is a wonder people don&#8217;t seem to wonder much about. Or do they? Do you? (Let me know!) As for me, I keep asking myself what I&#8217;m doing here, in life, or in any given place. I feel like a stranger everywhere. Until one day I grabbed my camera and started asking passersby what their answers were. That&#8217;s how <strong>Strangers.Now</strong> started.</p><p><strong>Watch the full 3-min documentary series</strong>:<br>&#10148; <strong><a href="https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels">www.strangers.now</a></strong><br>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via YouTube: <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong><br><br>&#8220;Everywhere, in the street, on the train, I feel like asking strangers who they are, what they&#8217;re doing, what&#8217;s on their minds. I&#8217;m curious about the lives I come across&#8230;&#8221;<br>&#8212; <strong>Simone Signoret</strong>, the renowned French actress, in a TV interview&#8212;quoted from memory. (Signoret actually questioned strangers in a department store, filmed in the 1960s for the documentary <em><a href="https://madelen.ina.fr/content/william-klein-aux-grands-magasins-75883?locale=en">William Klein aux grands magasins</a></em>.)</p><h4>All unique, all strangers</h4><p>Our identities are shaped by not being identical&#8212;just as strangers are. We can tell one another apart thanks to our differences, to our very uniqueness.</p><h4>Strangers? Now!</h4><p>Don&#8217;t you think it&#8217;s intriguing? Don&#8217;t you want to ask strangers how different they are? What they&#8217;re thinking? What they&#8217;re doing there?<br><a href="http://Strangers.Now">Strangers.Now</a> takes to the streets to ask, listen and connect. In real life. With real strangers.</p><p><strong>Do you know how good it feels?<br>That you could do it too?<br>Speak with strangers. Now.<br></strong>(Need an icebreaker? Just drop Strangers.Now. Quite fitting, isn&#8217;t it?)</p><p>Meanwhile, meet on your screen:</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.strangers.now/p/over-the-rainbow">Namratha</a>, who&#8217;s always trying to climb a rainbow (English)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.strangers.now/p/watch-a-match">David</a>, who finally found a place he belongs to: the football stadium (Italian)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.strangers.now/p/everything-is-different">Guoda and Karolis</a>, who discuss hangovers and the meaning of life (Lithuanian)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.strangers.now/p/a-brave-hedgehog">Rolandas</a>, who feels like a kind hedgehog (Lithuanian)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.strangers.now/p/dark-nights">Nicolas</a>, who narrates the drama he lived through in Ukraine (in French)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.strangers.now/p/words-fail-to-speak">Kunthea</a>, who can&#8217;t find words to share her appalling fate under the Khmer Rouge (French and Khmer)</p></li><li><p>And <a href="https://www.strangers.now/archive">other strangers</a> open to sharing their perspectives with you.</p></li><li><p>More to come!</p></li></ul><p>Films and texts &#169; Eric Vander Borght &#8211; <a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a> &#8211; <a href="http://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.<br>(Independent filmmaking, real-life storytelling, and more).</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a> <br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/natural-born-strangers?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/natural-born-strangers?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think <em>Strangers.Now</em> is worthy of attention, please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/abydos_music-27178115/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a> and <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/liecio-3298866/">Li&#233;cio Rodriguez</a>, sourced from Pixabay and used under a royalty-free license.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching <strong><a href="https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels">Strangers.Now</a></strong>! Subscribe for free to discover new short films and meaningful real-life moments.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p><strong>Films, Human-Made | Human stories through independent filmmaking | <a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Words fail to speak]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Kunthea faces a cruel past (in French and Khmer)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/words-fail-to-speak</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/words-fail-to-speak</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 12 Apr 2025 18:13:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/161191179/c473ba4c9bb6d2ec9d3ecb8233db90ef.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Unlike most films in the series, this one is not about a stranger. If Kunthea&#8212;my ex-wife&#8212;is, in a way, estranged, she is an exception. She is also an exceptional dancer, formerly with the Royal Ballet of Cambodia.</p><p>We filmed this moment in 2012 at the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh. I&#8217;m sharing it now because April 17, 2025&#8212;just a few days from the time of posting&#8212;will mark 50 years since the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. That day changed Kunthea&#8217;s life: the regime took her youth, her innocence, and her father, mother, and brothers. She was 8 years old. Like all residents of Phnom Penh, the family had 24 hours to leave the city for four years of forced labour in far-flung fields, until the fall of the regime.</p><p>An estimated two million Cambodians&#8212;nearly a quarter of the population&#8212;were massacred under the Khmer Rouge.</p><p>Kunthea&#8217;s testimony shows how difficult it can be to convey such a past. But <em>seeing </em>her struggle to speak says more than words could. That&#8217;s why testimonies like this matter&#8212;especially in a time when the world is growing increasingly radicalized.</p><p>Meanwhile, in 1975, I was a teenager in my bedroom discovering Pink Floyd&#8217;s newly released "Wish You Were <em>Here</em>"&#8212;an ironic title in this context. Kunthea was trapped in a country she had not chosen to be born in. What was she doing <em>there</em>?</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/words-fail-to-speak?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/words-fail-to-speak?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention, please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching <a href="http://strangers.now">Strangers.Now</a>! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dark nights]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Geneva, Switzerland, Nicolas shares his personal trauma with calm clarity (in French)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/dark-nights</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/dark-nights</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 17:28:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160576785/13c0c8c4b4df764d9c50d8fd1dcc214b.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It was while shooting some extra scenes in Geneva for another film that I met Nicolas, standing with his dog companion by Lake Leman. I asked him about his dog, and he spontaneously began telling me his appalling story&#8212;reported in the Swiss press at the time, and since then he has been in good hands, well cared for. Later, when asked why he agreed to be on film and to confide his terrible secret for the first time, he said that Karma, his dog, hadn&#8217;t barked at me&#8212;though she always does when meeting strangers.</p><p>In my view, Nicolas&#8217; sincere and striking testimony reveals a deep sense of humanity, and the complexity of our condition, which we must face without turning away.</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/s/strangers-reels">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/dark-nights?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/dark-nights?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a> used under royalty-free license.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Over the rainbow]]></title><description><![CDATA[Even in Trakai, Lithuania, Indian beauty queen Namratha wishes to climb the rainbow (in English)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/over-the-rainbow</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/over-the-rainbow</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 17:12:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160656513/579a7c0cf2de3d71569cf27e41c70590.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Namratha, a multi-award-winning Indian Miss, recently arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, to study at university. We met on Christmas Eve while she was taking photos of a Father Christmas performer in the Old Town. The following day, December 25, we visited Trakai, a town near Vilnius, with her friends Ragini and Theresa to explore the famous castle, where the filming of this video took place. Trakai was once the medieval capital of the country.</p><p>The sky over Trakai was grey that day&#8212;there wasn&#8217;t much chance of seeing a rainbow, except perhaps in Namratha&#8217;s sunny presence.</p><p>As a proud native of the Indian state of Telangana, Namratha&#8217;s tagline is &#8216;Your Telangana Child!&#8217;</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/namrathaofficialisnotme/">Namratha&#8217;s Instagram</a></p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/over-the-rainbow?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/over-the-rainbow?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A brave hedgehog]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Vilnius, Lithuania, Rolandas claims that the hedgehog is a loving animal. An animal? (In Lithuanian)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/a-brave-hedgehog</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/a-brave-hedgehog</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 16:44:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160655817/31b125bbe8ef6b4b56e6d1812d47c7c2.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Rolandas was focused on writing, bent over his notebook in a bar with loud music and people moving around. When asked about his writing, I understood, through the noise, that he was writing about &#8220;Hitchcock.&#8221; He actually said &#8220;hedgehog.&#8221;</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/a-brave-hedgehog?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/a-brave-hedgehog?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Watch a match]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Vilnius, Lithuania, David tells us how a passion for football can make one feel at home (in Italian)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/watch-a-match</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/watch-a-match</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 16:32:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160654638/a204fa262466170657e1a8e0519001d4.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When we met, David was visiting Vilnius after attending a football match the day before, where his supported Romanian national team won against Lithuania in the neighboring city of Kaunas. David is an Italian citizen, speaks Italian, and is Romanian at heart, as his family originates from Romania. He passionately follows his team everywhere.</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/watch-a-match?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/watch-a-match?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Being in the ghetto]]></title><description><![CDATA[Alexander, a young American man, is exploring both Vilnius, Lithuania, and his family&#8217;s past (in English)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/being-in-the-ghetto</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/being-in-the-ghetto</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 16:02:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160640996/ae2d06a0e89f662ebe6a12f2d231c972.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Alexander, a US citizen whose ancestors endured a tragic past in Lithuania, is both mesmerized by and fond of the country, where he intends to settle. He walks the streets of Vilnius&#8217;s former Jewish ghetto in search of traces of his family and the history that shaped the country&#8217;s past.</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/being-in-the-ghetto?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/being-in-the-ghetto?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.</p><p><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A pompous funeral]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Vilnius, Lithuania, a new path to see the world (in Lithuanian)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/a-pompous-funeral</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/a-pompous-funeral</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Apr 2025 11:02:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160639550/abc5dc1a637b30870803bcfd41f29793.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I met Simona by chance&#8230; in my stairway, on the day I moved in&#8212;a young woman from Lithuania, thoughtful, friendly, and cheerful, who turns a funeral into a philosophical experience.</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/a-pompous-funeral?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/a-pompous-funeral?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A big plate with rice and meat]]></title><description><![CDATA[Vilnius, Lithuania. Ibi Yaseen on food, family, and strangerness (in English)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/a-big-plate-with-rice-and-meat</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/a-big-plate-with-rice-and-meat</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:23:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160609353/7c2d0f62cca766145ca4fd177b68dbd4.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ibi Yaseen was ordering a meal for his daughter and wife when I caught him on camera at a unique, small, and delicious Asian food snack shop located in the wall of the Old Town of Vilnius. They had just returned from visiting the family of Justina, his Lithuanian wife. It was the first ever on-camera interview for their daughter, Jasmin.</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/a-big-plate-with-rice-and-meat?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/a-big-plate-with-rice-and-meat?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Everything is different]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Vilnius, Lithuania, Guoda and Karolis discuss subjects on camera for the first time since they&#8217;ve been together (in Lithuanian)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/everything-is-different</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/everything-is-different</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2025 19:58:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160594758/3af6c462fd8f837f26e12a0e82d2b889.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The day was declining, but not the queue of voters on one of the election days in Vilnius, Lithuania. Guoda and Karolis had just fulfilled their civic duty when our eyes met. Mine were soon behind the viewfinder, as they spontaneously agreed to chat about existence and strangerness. Amazing!</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/everything-is-different?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/everything-is-different?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.</p><p><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The YouTube playlist: <strong><a href="http://www.strangers.tube">www.strangers.tube</a></strong></p><p>Opening music by <a href="https://jeromechauvel.bandcamp.com/">J&#233;r&#244;me Chauvel</a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Strangers.Now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.strangers.now/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;action=share"><span>Share Strangers.Now</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for watching Strangers.Now! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[It's a question I always think about]]></title><description><![CDATA[In Vilnius, Lithuania, Aleksandra & Anna talk about the meaning of life and identity (in Russian and Lithuanian)]]></description><link>https://www.strangers.now/p/its-a-question-i-always-think-about-13a</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.strangers.now/p/its-a-question-i-always-think-about-13a</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Van]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 19 Jan 2025 13:20:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/155155655/6087acc9a82d25d0f7585f01669f8ef3.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Aleksandra, known as &#8216;Shura&#8217; (right), and Anna (left) are old friends from Vilnius. They&#8217;ve experienced the times when Stalin and then Brezhnev died, both of which felt like the end of the world for populations under Soviet rule. Anna has lived in different countries and now resides in Rome. She reflects on the splintering of her identity due to these changes in environments and languages.</p><p>&#10148; <strong>More auto-translated languages via <a href="http://www.strangers.tube">YouTube</a>&#8212;desktop only.</strong></p><p><strong>The video is part of the <a href="https://www.strangers.now/">Strangers.Now</a> film series.<br></strong>Films and texts &#169; <strong>Eric Van</strong>der Borght &#8211; <strong><a href="http://www.ericvan.com">www.ericvan.com</a></strong> &#8211; <a href="https://linktr.ee/vanderbo">linktr.ee/vanderbo</a></p><p>I&#8217;m available for film and photography projects.</p><p><strong><a href="https://ericvan.com/#lets-talk">Let&#8217;s get in touch</a><br></strong>or comment below</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.strangers.now/p/its-a-question-i-always-think-about-13a?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.strangers.now/p/its-a-question-i-always-think-about-13a?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p><br>&#10148; If you think Strangers.Now is worthy of attention&#8212;that&#8217;s exactly what it needs&#8212;please share, like, and engage widely! These films are unlisted on YouTube; only <em>your</em> sharing, and that of your friends, can bring them to life. They need your creative involvement&#8212;preferably in person: <strong>word of mouth is the best way to support a project that is entirely self-funded</strong>.<br><br><strong>Note: </strong>The subjects of the films usually speak their mother tongue or a language they feel comfortable with: we believe that embracing diverse forms of expression makes the world a richer place. <strong>On YouTube, English subtitles can be activated via the relevant icon, and automatic translation into many languages (desktop only) is accessible</strong> through the gear icon in the bottom-right corner of the videos (see below).</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="http://www.strangers.tube" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tOvz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png" width="1456" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9159343c-8a4c-4777-8052-b633ebb4476c_1980x827.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:718357,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http://www.strangers.tube&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" 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